Where the Sun Meets the Sea
by katxfic
Summary: After capturing and imprisoning Katara, Zuko's ship wrecks in a storm, forcing them both to wash up alone on Ember Island. In their time of solitude and survival, Katara uncovers a deeper side to the Fire Lord's son and searches for the good in him that she knows is buried somewhere. Takes place in early Book One. Rated M for violence, language, smut and alcohol use. Zuko x Katara.


CHAPTER ONE

Katara found herself engulfed in darkness. Though she would never outwardly admit it, she was scared. There wasn't a single drop of water nearby that she could use to her advantage and her hands were shackled so tightly that the cuffs dug into her skin. The metal pole she was tied to was sturdy and there was no way to free herself from it – she had already tried.

She fought back tears as she sat on the cold ground, bringing her knees to her chest. Her thoughts lay with Aang and Sokka; they surely must be looking for her by now. For hours she had sat alone in the darkness, listening intently to the muffled noises outside the cell, expecting at any moment to hear the commotion of Aang and her brother fighting their way through the ship to save her.

But, no one came, and she grew increasingly worried the farther they sailed from the location of her capture. Would Aang and Sokka even know where to begin looking?

The door to Katara's cell burst open and she flinched and jumped to her feet. From the dimly lit hall, she could see the silhouette of a man enter the room and slam the door shut, encasing her in darkness once more.

This was the first time someone had entered her cell since being captured and her heart hammered in her chest.

With as much strength in her voice as she could muster, Katara called out, "What do you want?"

Silence followed and she tried to listen for footsteps but didn't hear anything. Then, a hot flame was lit directly next to her head, illuminating the scarred face of her capturer.

"Zuko," Katara said with disgust.

He moved the flame in the palm of his hand so close to her cheek that she had to keep from squirming with discomfort. She locked eyes with his cold, amber gaze to try and read his face for intentions, but it was blank.

"You're the Water Bender, aren't you? The one from the South Pole. You've been traveling with the Avatar," he spoke in a cool, collected tone.

Katara turned her face away from him, unable to bare the heat of his flame or look into his eyes any longer. She said nothing.

"Don't try and deny it," Zuko reached into his pocket and pulled out an object in which he dangled over her face, "I know this is yours."

The object slowly came into focus and Katara stiffened. It was her mother's necklace. It had fallen off during the riot at the Fire Nation prison rig and since then Katara had come to terms with a deep sadness that she would never see it again. She never expected that it would have fallen into the hands of Zuko himself.

"Please," Katara reasoned, "That necklace is all I have left of my mother."

Zuko pulled away from her and slipped the choker back into his robe.

"Tell me where to find the Avatar and it's all yours," he said smoothly.

Katara glared at him, at an impasse, but she knew there was only one logical decision.

"I'm not telling you anything," she growled.

Zuko looked her up and down for a moment and stepped closer once more, the flame in his hand flickering dangerously.

"I thought that might be the case," he answered, "Very well then."

With no warning, Zuko grabbed Katara by the upper arm with his other hand, sending searing pain all over the left side of her body. She winced but resisted the urge to cry out as he burned into her flesh, slowly increasing the temperature of his hand.

"Tell me where to find him!" Zuko yelled, gripping her arm tighter.

Katara couldn't handle it any longer, she began to scream, inhaling the scent of her own burning skin. The white-hot pain was excruciating, it felt as if someone was pressing her arm against burning coals. Involuntary tears escaped her eyes.

Just as quickly as he had started, Zuko released her and Katara backed away as far as possible, panting heavily and crying. Even after letting her go, her arm still burned with immense pain. She looked down at it and saw a bright red handprint where he had scalded her.

Zuko leaned down so his face was level with hers but Katara turned her head, unable to look him. She was shaking and sweating slightly.

"I will set you free along with your necklace, but only if you tell me where the Avatar is," he said softly, studying her face.

"You can torture me all you want but I will _never _tell you," Katara spat.

Zuko turned around and screamed with rage, shooting a wave of fire at the wall, illuminating the entire cell. A tapestry caught fire and began burning.

He turned back to her yelling, "This is your last chance, Waterbender!" Wild streams of fire began shooting from both his fists onto the floor.

If Katara wasn't already terrified, she was now. She was certain he was going to kill her.

"You're a monster!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Zuko raised his hand and before Katara had time to react, he backhanded her hard across the face.

Before that moment, Katara couldn't recall a time where she had ever been hit like that. The side of her face stung almost as bad as her arm now and her vision was blurred. She didn't bother to raise her head again, letting her hair fall over her face. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for another burn.

Instead, she heard the sound of the thick, metal door opening and Zuko retorted, "Maybe some time in solitude will loosen your lips, _peasant_."

The door slammed shut and she dropped to her knees, alone once again. A chill ran through her as he had uttered the word peasant. Who the fuck did he think he was? Katara began to sob quietly in the dark, half out of pain and half out of hopelessness.

She prayed that Sokka and Aang would find her quickly, before Zuko laid another hand on her. She could only imagine what they will do to him when they find out what he did. She couldn't wait to pry her mother's necklace off his cold, dead body.

After hours of whimpering, exhaustion took over her pain and discomfort and Katara drifted off with her back leaning against the pole. She entered a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Katara leapt forward in pain. Her arm felt as if it was on fire again and she whirled around, trying to understand what had awoken her.

The lanterns on the wall of the cell had been lit and through the dim, orange glow she saw an older man with long grey hair and a beard crouching next to her.

Katara and the old man both jumped away from one another; Katara's abruptness had obviously startled him as much as he startled her.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, adrenaline surging through her body, preparing to fight if necessary.

The man put up his hands in surrender, in them he clutched a white bandage roll.

"Please, my child, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you," he said.

Katara eyed him suspiciously, but judging by his calm demeanor, the medicinal supplies he carried and his kind smile, she could tell he spoke the truth and she relaxed slightly.

"Let me see your arm," the man gestured, and when Katara didn't move he added, "Please."

She was quiet for a moment while contemplating. Part of her was terrified that this was just a ploy by Zuko to somehow trick her into giving up Aang's location and she would be burned by this man the second she moved towards him. On the other hand, the man did seem genuine and she was in dire need of medical attention.

Katara cautiously raised her upper arm toward him, as far as she could stretch with her hands bound.

The man nodded and lightly took hold of her elbow to steady her shaking limb. He set down the bandage and picked up a wooden bowl containing a light green paste.

"Just to warn you, this is going to hurt while I'm applying it, but I promise it will be worth it," he said, scooping out a large amount.

"What is it?" Katara asked.

"It will help heal your burn and keep it from getting an infection," the man replied, his hand hoovering over her burn. "Are you ready?"

Katara shut her eyes and nodded, tensing her body. As soon as he began applying the paste, the pain from her burn increased ten-fold. She winced and inhaled sharply, trying not to cry out. It felt as if the whole right side of her body was being dipped into boiling water. The pain was almost as bad as being burned initially.

Hot tears fell silently down her cheeks as the man worked. He glanced up at her face and quickly back down. Katara felt ashamed that Zuko and now this strange man had seen her cry. She didn't like looking weak.

"My nephew really did a number on you, hm?" The man commented.

Katara's head shot up and she stared at him in surprise. "Zuko is your…?"

"Yes," he said indifferently, "He is my nephew. You can call me Uncle Iroh, if you'd like."

He chuckled slightly before looking up at Katara's wide eyes. His face fell and he added, "Or, just Iroh."

Katara processed this information. Why was he being so kind to her? Did Zuko even know he was here?

"And, what is your name, young Waterbender?" Iroh asked gently.

Katara winced again as he smoothed another handful of the paste on her arm.

"It's Katara," she admitted in a small voice.

Iroh smiled. "That is a very lovely name."

Katara gave a slight smile in response, "Thank you."

There was a long silence as Iroh finished applying the medication and began carefully wrapping her arm in bandages. Katara could already feel the cooling effect from the paste and the pain had subdued slightly.

"I hear you are from the Southern Water Tribe," Iroh said without looking up, "How rare for there to be a Southern Water Tribe bender."

Katara's heart rate increased, wondering where this conversation was heading. "I'm the last one," she answered slowly, "The rest were killed generations ago by Fire Nation soldiers."

Iroh stopped wrapping her arm and looked up. She didn't know how exactly he would react to her statement, but he said the last thing Katara could have guessed.

"I'm sorry," he said with sadness in his eyes.

Katara looked quickly away, she didn't know how to respond.

It was quiet as Iroh continued to bandage her burn. When he was finished, he silently stood up and walked behind her. Katara was uneasy as soon as he left her line of sight.

Then, her bound hands sprang apart and she gasped with relief, slowly bringing her wrists together and rubbing the sore, red marks the cuffs had made.

Iroh gathered the empty bowl and began walking towards the door. Katara scrambled to her feet, her first instinct being to overtake the round, old man as soon as the chamber was open and run out the door. But she was stopped by the memory of his kindness and thought rationally about the fact she was an injured, unexperienced bender.

"Prince Zuko has requested you be left alone for a couple days. I've left a clean chamber pot and a blanket in the corner but I'm afraid that's all he allowed me to bring," Iroh said.

Katara was stunned into silence by his generosity. She was deeply confused. Iroh began to swing open the heavy, cell door and Katara found her voice just as he was about to exit.

"Why help me?" She blurted out.

Iroh turned back around to face her and smiled gently. "I know my nephew can be a bit…unreasonable at times," he started. Katara raised her eyebrows. Unreasonable wasn't exactly the word she would use.

"But I don't wish to see you suffer under his behalf. Prince Zuko is a complicated man and sometimes he takes out his anger on others," Iroh sighed, "I'm just sorry it had to be you."

Katara stiffened, unsure of what to think.

Iroh bowed his head saying, "Get some rest, Katara," before slipping out the cell door and locking it behind him.

Katara let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and shook her head. How could someone as decent as Iroh have a nephew like Zuko? But no matter what anyone said about him, nothing could change her mind of how horrible a person Zuko was.

He had destroyed her village, attacked her brother, and followed Aang halfway across the world, not to mention capturing and torturing her while taking her to God knows where.

_I'll save you from the pirates. _

A shiver went up Katara's spine as she remembered that night. Him holding her wrists tightly against his chest, almost intimately, before clubbing her across the head and dragging her onto his ship.

She was a fool; she should have fought harder. But turning around and running straight into the man she hated most in the world, only to be inches away from his face had really thrown her through a loop. She was so startled that she didn't have time to react.

Now that Iroh had left, Katara felt alone and scared once more. She didn't realize how much of an impact the kind, human interaction had on her.

Katara sank to the ground and sobs racked her body. She cried for the pain in her face and arm, she cried for her village and her Gran-Gran, she cried out of hatred for Zuko and frustration, but mostly she cried for Aang and Sokka. She missed them so much her heart ached. She had no idea where she was or where they were even going, so how would Aang and Sokka know? They were still fast asleep when she had been captured, giving Zuko hours to gain distance between them and her friends.

She needed to maintain hope that they were still coming to save her, because without hope she would be lost.

Katara curled into a ball and tried to push the dark thoughts of Zuko torturing her away. There was no use dwelling on those memories. Pulling the blanket Iroh had left over her body, Katara's crying lessened and she shut her eyes, letting the movement of the ship lull her to sleep.


End file.
